Slappy Cakes at Solaris Dutamas: Review

From Portland to Publika: American brunch franchise Slappy Cakes smacks its way into Malaysia this month, promising playful pancakes that customers can cook themselves on special griddles built on each table.

Mix-&-Match Concept

Slappy Cakes’ mix-&-match concept has found fans from Maui to Manila, Tokyo to Singapore: First, choose a pancake batter – buttermilk (RM9), whole wheat, chocolate or peanut butter (RM12 each, reputedly made from scratch daily). Then pick some fixins (RM3 each) to be added to the pancake while it’s cooking – these comprise both savoury (chicken sausage, cheddar cheese, chopped scallions or roasted mushrooms) & sweet (butterscotch chips, shredded coconut, toasted almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, choc chips, granola, apples, bananas, blueberries). Finally, select one or more toppings (RM3.50 each) – honey, peanut butter, lemon curd, strawberry jam, maple syrup, crispy bacon, whipped cream or cinnamon creme fraiche.

It’s easy to get the hang of this fairly fast – squeeze the batter from the bottle to the griddle, & have fun creating your pancakes in various shapes & sizes. Flip ’em once bubbles pop around their edges, & voila, they’ll be ready to eat within a few minutes.

Slappy Cakes’ own Speciality Recipes

Each serving of batter is sufficient to produce many, many pancakes – perfect for kids of all ages. The pancakes taste pretty basic, but that’s fine. If you prefer to have the kitchen make your pancakes, you can choose from Slappy Cakes’ own speciality recipes, such as buttermilk pancakes with blueberries, crushed peanuts, strawberries & house-made lemon curd (RM16).

The Rest of the Menu

We enjoyed our DIY pancakes, though we’re not sure we’d form a habit of these. It might be interesting nonetheless to explore the rest of Slappy Cakes’ a la carte menu, which includes multiple types of Eggs Benedict (one with turkey bacon & pureed roasted garlic, another with smoked salmon, another with sauteed seasonal veggies, each RM19-RM23) & grilled chicken teriyaki burgers with guacamole & pineapples (RM23). But skip the perfunctory-tasting lemonade, stick to water & save RM8.